Milan secured a 1-0 win over Brescia on Friday night to extend our winning run and temporarily move up to sixth place in the Serie A table.
Ante Rebic was the hero again for the Rossoneri as he came off the bench for the second consecutive game to play a decisive role by grabbing the winner.
SEE MORE: Five key talking points as Rebic decisive again to secure Milan win vs Brescia
While the Croatian international will no doubt land plenty of headlines, equally as important at the other end of the pitch was Gianluigi Donnarumma who did enough to earn our Man of the Match award.
Milan player ratings vs Brescia:
Gianluigi Donnarumma, 8 – Hugely decisive in the second half in particular as he produced a string of key saves to keep us in the game. Brescia put the pressure on us during that period, but Donnarumma stood up to the challenge and was calling out his teammates when necessary too as he led by example.
Andrea Conti, 6 – Put in a decent shift without doing anything particularly special. Defended resolutely for the most part but was disappointing in possession, while he picked up a yellow card as a sacrifice for the team to end a counter attack.
Simon Kjaer, 6 – Showed his weakness early on with his lack of pace which resulted in a booking. Would have been difficult for him to play on with that in the back of his mind, and while he did settle thereafter, there are still issues that cause concern.
Alessio Romagnoli, 6.5 – A solid display from the captain who has developed a real talent for getting his positioning spot on when it comes to cutting out crosses and snuffing out danger. Was caused problems by the Brescia frontline’s physicality and aerial threat at times, but led the backline well.
Theo Hernandez, 6 – Sloppy in the early stages and was a step back for him compared to what he’s produced in recent weeks. Still almost managed to grab himself a goal with a brilliant surging run and ferocious strike which hit the crossbar, but even then arguably chose wrong option with Rebic available.
Samu Castillejo, 6 – Always provides a tireless work-rate, commitment and determination which is needed in his position in this system, but was lacking the quality to go with it on this occasion. Was too quiet throughout the game, while he was denied a late goal due to an offside call.
Franck Kessie, 5.5 – Didn’t go a great job of securing a foothold in the midfield battle and giving us a solid base on which to dominate the game. Did improve at times, but not consistently over the 90 minutes and so he’ll still face questions over whether or not he should stay in the starting XI.
Ismael Bennacer, 6.5 – Must tidy his defensive work up as he’s picking up too many bookings, but his combative nature off the ball coupled with his physicality and quick-thinking on the ball have seen his influence grow significantly as the weeks have gone on. His absence will be notable next week, but another positive performance.
Hakan Calhanoglu, 5.5 – Showed glimpses, but it’s nowhere near enough from him. His defensive work-rate makes him useful in this system but Stefano Sabelli caused him problems in that area and he failed to have an impact on our attacking play. With Giacomo Bonaventura also struggling in that role and Rebic perhaps more effective further up the pitch, it’s unclear who else can take up that position.
Rafael Leao, 5.5 – Replaced in the second half, and there is a familiar trend building with the youngster. His turn of pace and ability to take on defenders make him an exciting watch, but we’re seeing it in short bursts. He needs to get more involved in games and be a real menace to the opposition while working much harder off the ball. For a 20-year-old with so much still to prove, he needs to step up.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 6 – Not his best performance and he was guilty of missing a real sitter in the first half. However, he improved after the break and his presence up top was starting to cause problems. Did well to peel off at the back post to set up the Rebic goal, but he’ll know himself that he’s capable of being much better and more influential.
Substitutes:
Ante Rebic, 7 – Fast becoming Milan’s super-sub, he’ll be hoping his impact off the bench will help him force his way into the starting line-up next time out. Aside from the obvious positive with his goal, his intensity, urgency and work-rate on and off the ball gave us a timely lift and proved decisive once again. His confidence is clearly building, as he looked a real threat with some of the runs he was making into dangerous areas.
Rade Krunic, 6 – Did his job well after coming on to help shore things up in midfield and secure the win.